3/27/2017
Inside Line Promotions
Helms Sweeps the Weekend to Score First-Career Wins at Attica and Mansfield
(Photo by SprintFun Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – MANSFIELD, Ohio (March 27, 2017) – Caleb Helms swept the weekend in his home state last weekend when he captured feature victories at both Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio, on Friday and at Mansfield Motor Speedway on Saturday.
“The competition back home is so tough,” he said. “You always put more pressure on yourself at home tracks, but I really feel like we’re in a good place. We know we’re competitive and can put ourselves in the right place at the right time and capitalize on it. I want to thank my family and my team for their hard work and belief in me.”
Helms, who entered the weekend with two career sprint car wins – the last in April 2012 – unloaded a fast car on Friday at Attica Raceway Park. He timed in quickest in the first group of qualifying and second quickest overall.
“We really had a great car right out of the gate,” he said. “We were fast in qualifying and luckily got a good pill draw, too.”
Helms’ quick qualifying time set him up to start the heat race on the outside of the second row. He advanced one position to finish third, which was good enough to lock into the feature.
“We were good in the heat race, maybe a tick too tight, but the car still handled well enough to hang on to a transfer spot,” he said.
Helms took the green flag for the A Main from the third starting position.
“I felt like we were really in good shape and were going to be able to put ourselves in a position to win,” he said. “I just kept hitting my marks and seeing where I was better than the leaders.”
Helms raced his way into the second position by Lap 15 before he began to chase down the leader.
“Around Lap 22 we were right on his tail and I just couldn’t follow any longer,” he said. “So I made the move and slid him in turns three and four and it just so happened to stick.”
After completing the slide job for the lead, Helms pulled away to score his first career win at Attica Raceway Park and first win of the season.
“We’ve been racing at Attica for years and haven’t been able to pull off a win,” he said. “My dad and I have been doing this a long time and have been wanting to win at home, so it’s special to have him, along with my wife, son and grandpa in Victory Lane with us.”
The momentum continued on Saturday when Helms made the trip to Mansfield Motor Speedway for his debut at the facility, which recently changed back to a dirt track.
“The facility is an awesome place,” he said. “They’ve really done a great job with the changes and making it a dirt racing facility again.”
Mansfield Motor Speedway was slated to begin the night with qualifying. However, due to an excess amount of time for track work, qualifying was scratched from the schedule and competitors drew their starting positions for heat races.
Helms drew the last number of the pill draw, which started him at the back of a heat race. Due to a competitor dropping to the rear of the field, Helms gained an advantage and was able to move up a row.
“There wasn’t a lot of passing in the heat race because it was narrow and there was still a lot of moisture in the track,” he said.
He was able to advance a couple positions to finish the heat in the fourth position. That lined Helms up 12th for the first dirt feature at Mansfield Motor Speedway in almost two decades.
“The track widened out a lot more after the heat races and I felt like I could run it in the corner so much harder than some of the other guys,” he said. “We were passing cars high and low. I could really run wherever I wanted to and it would stick.”
Helms battled his way through the field and caught the leaders as they reached traffic. Just as Helms made the pass for second, a caution came out with three laps to go when the leader blew a tire.
“I used the brakes pretty hard during the feature so when that last caution came out I realized that they were completely gone,” he said. “I was hoping that I could just make it through the corners and coast to the checkered.”
Helms did just that, capturing his second win of the weekend and the first sprint car win at Mansfield Motor Speedway.
“This is absolutely incredible,” he said. “Our last win was back in 2012 at Wayne County so to have a weekend like this is awesome.”
QUICK RESULTS –
March 24 – Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 1 (3).
March 25 – Mansfield Motor Speedway in Mansfield, Ohio – Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 1 (12).
SEASON STATS –
13 races, 2 wins, 2 top fives, 2 top 10s, 5 top 15s, 9 top 20s
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://HelmsRacing40.wix.com/HelmsRacing
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Caleb_Helms40
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Helms.Motorsports
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Helms Construction Inc.
Helms Construction Inc. is a general construction company based in Findlay, Ohio.
“Helms Construction Inc. is my father’s business, which helps us get from race to race,” Helms said. “The people who make Helms Construction Inc. successful are the ones who make this opportunity possible for us. My dad is the only reason I have had the opportunity to race and everything I’ve accomplished so far is directly related to him.”
Helms would also like to thank Big Jerk, Helms and Sons Excavating, Ferguson and Tommy Tire for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller
